U.S. Vice President and presidential candidate of the Democratic Party in the November 5, 2024 election, Kamala Harris, has once again promised to back the restoration the law supporting abortion if elected president.
The Supreme Court, in the Roe v Wade case of 1973, ruled that a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy was protected by the US Constitution up until the point of fetal viability, which is about 24 weeks.
The landmark 7-2 decision established a framework to govern abortion, granting an almost right to women in the first three months or trimester of pregnancy, and allowing states to ban abortions as long as exceptions were made for the health and life of the mother in the third trimester.
This system remained in place for nearly 50 years until the court overturned the nationwide constitutional right to abortion access.
However, Harris reiterated her commitment to return the law in an interview with CBS on Sunday that largely focused on abortion and reproductive care.
When asked what abortion restrictions she would support if elected, the VP said, “I support Roe v Wade being put back into law by Congress.”
A study by the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research group, revealed that there were over one million legal abortions performed in the US in 2023, marking an 11% increase from 2020, and the first time since 2012 that more than 1 million abortions were recorded in the US.
As of August 2024, 17 states have outlawed nearly all abortions, banning the procedure at six weeks of pregnancy or earlier. Some have narrow exceptions for cases of rape, incest or the health of the mother.
The states, including Texas, Florida, and Alabama, are under Republican control, with many clustered in the US South.
Another eight states allow some access to the procedure.
These states bar abortion sometime between 12 and 23 weeks of pregnancy.